The deadline for political parties and independent candidates to submit their nomination details for the National and Provincial Elections (NPE) 2024 passed on Friday, March 8, 2024, at 17:00. According to reports from the Electoral Commission, the majority of submissions were made online, with only a small number submitted manually at the Commission’s office. Preliminary data suggests that a total of 115 parties have submitted nominations to contest seats in the National Assembly.
Among these submissions, all 14 parties currently represented in the National Assembly have put forward candidates for the upcoming elections. Additionally, 101 unrepresented parties without seats in the National Assembly or provincial legislatures have submitted their nominations, along with 16 independent candidates.
At the provincial level, 93 unrepresented parties have submitted nominations, along with 11 independent candidates, in addition to the 14 represented parties.
The Electoral Commission is now in the process of verifying these submissions for compliance with electoral regulations. For parties, compliance entails submitting a list of candidates along with the required deposit. Unrepresented parties must also provide proof of the required number of signatures from supporters, either through the nomination portal or by delivering physical documents to the Electoral Commission’s office.
Independent candidates must submit a prescribed nomination form along with evidence of the required number of signatures from supporters and the relevant deposit. Failure to comply with these foundational nomination requirements will result in disqualification.
There are additional administrative requirements for parties and independent candidates, such as submitting supporting documents like acceptance of nomination forms and declarations of eligibility. The Electoral Commission will notify parties and independent candidates of any deficiencies, allowing them until March 20, 2024, to rectify them.
On March 22, 2024, the Commission will address cases of candidates appearing on multiple lists, giving nominating parties until March 25, 2024, to resolve the issue.
Candidate lists will be open for inspection on March 26 and 27, 2024, with objections accepted until March 27, 2024. Appeals against decisions regarding objections can be made to the Electoral Court by April 2, 2024.
The final list of parties and candidates eligible to contest the elections will be compiled on April 10, 2024, initiating the ballot generation and printing process.
In a separate development, the Electoral Commission has launched an inquiry into the unauthorized disclosure of candidate lists from two political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK). The Commission is investigating the source of the disclosure, which appears to have originated from internal system-generated reports. Personal information contained in the disclosed documents has been reported to the Information Regulator in accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act.
